Theatre

A Raisin in the Sun is a play that was created by Lorraine Hansberry. It was first staged in 1959, and has truly changed the face of American theater. It was also published in the same year by Random House. In the same year as well, it was awarded Best Play by the New York Drama Critics Circle. Its genre is realist drama.

It is said that this play was based on the personal struggles of the author or writer herself, while some argue that this had come from some poem. But no matter what its origin is, the play and the story had proved to be lasting testament to what life was like during the time when racism was adamant in society.
The major characters in the play are Walter Lee (the only son of Mama, the husband of Ruth, the father of Travis, the brother of Beneatha), Mama (the sensitive mother), Beneatha (the progressive daughter) and Asagai (the Nigerian suitor of Beneatha).

The protagonist of the play is Walter Lee Younger. In the story, he was first presented as someone who wanted to get rich immediately. He thought that by getting rich in a fast way would easily get them out of poverty. He told his mother of his plan to invest in a liquor shop, thinking that it would help them solve their problems with money. But in the end of the play, Walter realizes that there were much more important things in life than money and riches. He finds out that family, dreams, and cultural pride weigh even more than all the money in the world. With this new perspective, he was able to make one of the toughest decisions of his life  to continue to move to a place where majority were white people and who were rather not willing to have African-American neighbors.

The story focuses on the life of an African-American family called the Youngers. The family is given the pension of their deceased breadwinner, an amount worth 10,000. Each of them (Mama, Ruth, Beneatha, and Walter) think about what they could do with the money. Each one of them had their own dreams that they want to fulfill, but personal conflicts arise that prove to be challenges for the entire family when it came to their resolve of fighting for their dreams. Eventually, they all agree on one thing  that they move to someplace new  and start a new life. They chose a neighborhood full of white people, and even if they were obviously being rejected by the inhabitants of the place, Walters family continues to move out. Even if they were offered a certain amount of money, they still continued with their desire  to leave the place they had all grown to love and to hate  and move into a more challenging society.

The basic drive in this storyplay is human ambition and how far one would go to achieve his or her dreams. In the story, each member desires this thing or that, not realizing that by doing so, they were overlooking the happiness of the many. Walter was the one indeed troubled, for he was the one who was supposed to help his family. He was, after all, the only son of Mama. It was his duty to take care of her and his family. At first, he thought that instant richness can cause endless happiness, but later on, Walter realizes that there were other things that were worth it.

Human ambition is a powerful thing to contend with. One will go to any lengths, whether it is good or bad, just to attain ones dreams. Some humans think that by doing the wrong thing they can easily catapult themselves to the top, only to fall back down with a tremendous plop. Some humans think that by doing the right thing, they will be able to achieve their dreams in a more dignified manner. The bottom line is, there are those who would do anything for their dreams, even if it means encroaching on others toes. There are those who also do not mind getting to what they want that immediately. Time can wait what they want can wait so why cannot they wait themselves Driving ones self to attain a personal goal can produce either positive or negative results. It depends upon how they executed their plan of getting there.

A Raisin in the Sun is a fine example of a work that shows that your race, your color, or your culture cannot stop you from dreaming for a better life. Other people might hinder you along the way to your goal, but you must not let them take control of your destiny. We are defined by our resolve in life. The stronger our resolve is to attain something, the stronger we become in the face of any challenge that comes our way. Dreaming helps us to set our goals dreaming also gives us that energy to attain those goals. But going after your dreams does not only bring about fulfillment it brings out a new you. A new you that can be able to face new challenges and still emerge as the winner in the end.